The Sleepy Jackson: new Album + Tour Dates!

Personality (Virging Records) July 24th.

The Sleepy Jackson have announced their return with the release of new album ‘Personality’ on July 24th on Virgin Records.

Written over the course of the last two years and recorded over three months with producer Scott Horscroft in Sydney during the Spring of 2005, ‘Personality’ is the follow-up to The Sleepy Jackson’s feverishly-acclaimed 2003 debut album ‘Lovers’, an album which featured prominently in many end-of-year polls and which is perhaps best described by Luke himself, as simply "my attempt at a perfect pop album". Its follow-up is proof that the symphonies constantly playing in Luke‘s head have no equal. From the opening bars of ‘You Needed More’ to Todd Rundgren-esque closer ‘How Was I Supposed To Know?’ we are witness to a songwriting masterclass with a production sound Phil Spector would be proud of. Grand pianos arrive by the score; batallions of trumpets emerge at every chorus; backing vocals arrive by the lorry load and string sections soar with a celestial abandon. Above it all, Luke applies thunderbolt guitars and a lead vocal seemingly constructed from candy floss. Imagine a thirties Broadway production of The Beatles Revolver and you’re still only halfway there.

"It’s hard to explain, but I wanted to achieve something phonetic with the vocals yet with the rhythmic appeal of Prince" explains Luke. "Vocally, I guess it’s to do with the sound Brian Wilson achieved with the Beach Boys, but musically I wanted to steer away from that rigid format of rock’n’roll. I wanted it to sound more like jazz really, that feeling of the music blowing with the wind…"

If songs like the sublime ‘I Understand What You Want But I Just Don’t Agree’ and ‘Play A Little Bit For Love’ serve as reminders of Luke’s capacity to carve out nuggets from the richest seam of the pop goldmine, the lyrics of ‘Devil Was In My Yard’ and ‘God Knows’ nod to the raging inner torments which have made The Sleepy Jackson’s story to date so volatile.

The Sleepy Jackson line up currently consists of Luke and long-term drummer Malcolm Clark.

‘Personality’ will be released on CD (CDVIR 221) and vinyl (LPVIR 221). It will be preceded by the release of the single ‘God Lead Your Soul’ on July 10th.

The Sleepy Jackson - July tour dates:

Jul 12 - Cockpit Leeds

Jul 13 - Manchester University 3 Manchester

Jul 14 - King Tuts Glasgow

Jul 15 - Rescue Rooms Nottingham

Jul 17 - Zodiac Oxford

Jul 18 - Scala London

http://myspace.com/thesleepyjackson